High banana prices may stay, expert says

A food security expert says the surge in banana prices shows that Australia needs a national food plan to avoid a crisis.

Months after Cyclone Yasi devastated 75 per cent of the north Queensland banana crop, the price of bananas has gone as high as $15 a kilogram.

Professor Michael D'Occhio from the University of Queensland says Australians may have to get used to soaring food prices.

"We may not continue to enjoy the availability and price of food that we've enjoyed up until now," he said.

He says Australia needs a plan and a change in attitude.

"People in developed countries have this sort of mindset that everything should be available and it should be at a price that they think they should be paying," he said.

"It also reflects how spoilt we are as Australians in that we want to continue to have the luxury of walking into the supermarket.

"Every time we do that, having on display in front of us - all the kinds of fruit and vegetables and dairy products and meat products that we're accustomed to - having laid out in front of us."

Professor D'Occhio says rising populations around the world are also putting upward pressure on food prices.

"The national psyche hasn't really realised what's occurring globally in terms of the demand for food and in particular the fresh, healthy, nutritious, safe and consistent food Australia provides," he said.